 1920 map of the railway | |
_railway_bridge_over_Battersea_Park_Road%2c_SW8_(cropped).jpg) The LB&SCR armorial device[note 1] | |
| Technical | |
|---|---|
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Length | 457 miles 20 chains (735.9 km) (1919)[1] |
| Track length | 1,264 miles 32 chains (2,034.9 km) (1919)[1] |
TheLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also asthe Brighton line,the Brighton Railway orthe Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline ofSussex as its base, covering a large part ofSurrey. It was bounded on its western side by theLondon and South Western Railway (L&SWR), which provided an alternative route toPortsmouth. On its eastern side the LB&SCR was bounded by theSouth Eastern Railway (SER)—later one component of theSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR)—which provided an alternative route toBexhill,St Leonards-on-Sea, andHastings. The LB&SCR had the most direct routes from London to the south coastseaside resorts ofBrighton,Eastbourne,Worthing,Littlehampton andBognor Regis, and to the ports ofNewhaven andShoreham-by-Sea. It served the inland towns and cities ofChichester,Horsham,East Grinstead andLewes, and jointly servedCroydon,Tunbridge Wells (preserved as theSpa Valley Railway),Dorking andGuildford. At the London end was a complicated suburban and outer-suburban network of lines emanating fromLondon Bridge andVictoria, and shared interests in two cross-London lines.
The LB&SCR was formed by a merger of five companies in 1846, and merged with the L&SWR, the SE&CR and several minor railway companies in southern England under theRailways Act 1921 to form theSouthern Railway from 1 January 1923.
| London and Brighton Railway Act 1846 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to consolidate and unite the London and Brighton and the London and Croydon Railway Companies and the Undertakings belonging to them. |
| Citation | 9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxxxii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 27 July 1846 |
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) was formed by anact of Parliament, theLondon and Brighton Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxxxii), on 27 July, through the amalgamation of a number of railway companies:
Only the first two were independent operating railways: the Brighton and Chichester and the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings had been purchased by the L&BR in 1845,[2] and the Croydon and Epsom was largely owned by the L&CR.)
The amalgamation was brought about, against the wishes of the boards of directors of the companies, by shareholders in the L&CR and L&BR who were dissatisfied with the early returns from their investments.[3]
The LB&SCR existed for 76 years until 31 December 1922, when it was wound up as a result of theRailways Act 1921 and merged with theLondon and South Western Railway and theSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway to form theSouthern Railway.
(Dates of opening from F. BurttThe Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1839–1903.[4])
At the time of its creation the LB&SCR had around 170 route miles (274 km) in existence or under construction, consisting of three main routes and a number of branches.
Themain line to Brighton from London Bridge opened in 1841. The sections between Corbett's Lane (New Cross) andLondon Bridge and between Croydon andRedhill were shared with theSouth Eastern Railway (SER). There were two branch lines under construction at the time of the amalgamation: theSutton & Mole Valley Lines from Croydon toEpsom (opened 10 May 1847), and theArun Valley Line fromThree Bridges toHorsham (opened 14 February 1848).
TheWest Sussex coast line originated with a branch line from Brighton toShoreham, opened 12 May 1840. This had been extended toChichester by the time of the amalgamation, and a further extension toHavant was under construction (opened 15 March 1847), with the ultimate aim of extending the line to Portsmouth.
TheEast Sussex coast line from Brighton toLewes andSt Leonards-on-Sea, with running powers over the SER toHastings, opened 27 June 1846, one month before the amalgamation, with branches toNewhaven (opened 8 December 1847),Eastbourne andHailsham (opened 14 May 1849). A connecting spur from the Brighton main line at Keymer Junction nearHaywards Heath to the Brighton–Lewes line was under construction at the time of amalgamation, opening in October 1847.
A short line fromNew Cross toDeptford Wharf, proposed by the L&CR, was approved in July 1846, shortly before amalgamation, but was not opened until 2 July 1849. The use of this line for passengers would have contravened the recently negotiated agreement with the SER that the LB&SCR would not operate lines to the east of its main line, and it was restricted to goods.[5] A short branch from this line to the nearbySurrey Commercial Docks inRotherhithe opened in July 1855.[6]
The main London terminus was the L&CR station atLondon Bridge, built by theLondon and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) in 1836, and exchanged for the original L&CR station in 1842. For the first few years of its existence, LB&SCR trains used the L&GR lines from Corbett's Lane into London, but by 1849 theviaducts had been widened sufficiently for its own tracks.[7]
The LB&SCR inherited from the L&CR running powers to the smaller SER passenger terminus atBricklayers Arms. Poorly sited for passengers, it closed in 1852 and was converted into a goods station.
The LB&SCR owned three stations at Croydon, laterEast Croydon (former L&BR)Central Croydon andWest Croydon (former L&CR).
The L&CR had been partially operated by theatmospheric principle betweenCroydon andForest Hill, as the first phase of a scheme to use this mode of operation between London andEpsom. However, following a number of technical problems, the LB&SCR abandoned atmospheric operation in May 1847. This enabled it to build its own lines into London Bridge, and have its own independent station there, by 1849.
The history of the LB&SCR can be studied in five distinct periods.
The LB&SCR was formed at the same time as the bursting of therailway mania investment bubble, and so it found raising capital for expansion extremely difficult during the first years of its operation, other than to complete those projects that were already in hand. The L&BR had experienced difficult relations with the SER where the companies shared facilities, notably atRedhill andHastings and on the approaches toLondon Bridge). In October 1849 the SER acquired the new Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR)line, which the LB&SCR regarded as a major incursion into its territory. However, the LB&SCR had one important playing card not available to the L&BR—control of the SER main line between New Cross and Croydon. In 1849 the LB&SCR appointed a new and capable chairman,Samuel Laing, who negotiated a formal agreement with the SER that would resolve their difficulties for the time being and would define the territories of the two railways. Under this agreement the LB&SCR would have free access to London Bridge, Bricklayers Arms station and goods yard, and Hastings. The SER would have free use of the New Cross to Croydon line, and receive revenues from passengers at intermediate stations, but would not make or work competing lines to Brighton, Horsham, Chichester or Portsmouth.[8]
In 1847 the naval dockyard ofPortsmouth was being approached by two equally indirect routes from London, both under construction: a L&SWR route viaFareham and the former Brighton and Chichester Railway route fromHavant. The two companies entered into an agreement in that year to share a line fromCosham on the mainland toPortsea Island, ending at the centre ofPortsmouth town. Further progress towards the dockyard was prevented byAdmiralty objections.[9] The LB&SCR began its services between Chichester and Portsmouth, on 14 June 1847, and the L&SWR from Fareham in October 1848.
In 1853 theDirect Portsmouth Railway gained parliamentary authority to build a line fromGodalming to Havant with the intention of the company selling itself either to the L&SWR or the LB&SCR. This scheme would provide a far more direct route to Portsmouth but involved sharing the LB&SCR tracks for the five miles (8 km) between Havant and the joint line to Portsea.[10] The LB&SCR objected to the scheme but the L&SWR negotiated with the new company and in December 1858 sought to operate a train over the new route. The LB&SCR attempted to prevent the use of its tracks and the so-called'battle of Havant' ensued. The matter was eventually resolved in the courts in August 1859, and relations between the railways were formalized in agreements of 1860 and 1862.[11]
Samuel Laing had also approved a modest degree of expansion elsewhere, most notably the acquisition of abranch line from the main line at Three Bridges to the market town ofEast Grinstead in July 1855.[9]
Some of the directors of the LB&SCR were closely involved with the company that purchasedThe Crystal Palace after the completion ofThe Great Exhibition in October 1851 and arranged for its removal to a site onSydenham Hill, close to the London to Brighton main line, which they purchased fromLeo Schuster. The Crystal Palace became a major tourist attraction and the LB&SCR built a branch line fromSydenham to the new site, which was opened in June 1854, and enlarged London Bridge station to handle the additional traffic. The attraction proved to be an enormous success with 10,000 passengers conveyed daily to and from the new branch.[12] On one day in 1859, 112,000 people were conveyed to Crystal Place by train, 70,000 of which from London Bridge.[13]
Samuel Laing retired as chairman at the end of 1855 to pursue a political career, and was replaced by themerchant bankerLeo Schuster, who had previously sold his 300-acre (120 ha) estate on Sydenham Hill to the new Crystal Palace Company.[14] Schuster instituted a policy of rapidly expanding the route mileage of the railway with new routes throughout south London, Sussex, and east Surrey. Some of these were financed and built by the LB&SCR, others by independent local companies set up with the intention of connecting a town to the railway network with the intention of sale or lease to the LB&SCR. Schuster accelerated the rate of mileage increase after appointingFrederick Banister as Chief Engineer in 1860. As a result, a further 177 miles (285 km) were constructed or authorised between 1857 and 1865.[15]
Schuster also encouraged an independent concern, theWest End of London and Crystal Palace Railway (WEL&CPR), to construct a new line extending in a wide arc round south London from the LB&SCR Crystal Palace branch toWandsworth in 1856 and toBattersea in 1858 with a temporary terminus at Battersea Pier. Shortly after this line was completed, the LB&SCR leased it from the WEL&CPR and incorporated it into its system.
Between 1858 and 1860 the LB&SCR was a major shareholder in theVictoria Station and Pimlico Railway (VS&PR), together with theEast Kent Railway (later theLondon Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR)), theGreat Western Railway (GWR) and theLondon & North Western Railway (LNWR). This enterprise constructed theGrosvenor Bridge over theRiver Thames at Battersea and the line to theVictoria Station, thereby creating a through (albeit roundabout) route from its main line near Croydon to a terminus in the West End of London. Following the acquisition of the WEL&CPR, a new 'cut-off' line betweenWindmill Bridge Junction (Norwood) andBalham was constructed during 1861 and 1862, which had the effect of reducing the distance from East Croydon to Victoria.
The VS&PR line was also connected with another joint venture theWest London Extension Joint Railway, jointly financed by the LB&SCR, L&SWR, GWR and the L&NWR, to permit goods transfers between the companies and cross-London passenger trains. This line was opened in 1863, and in the same year the LB&SCR and L&SWR jointly opened a large interchange station namedClapham Junction. The LB&SCR also operated passenger trains between Clapham Junction andAddison Road.
TheWest Croydon to Wimbledon Line was built as an independent railway joining the LB&SCR and the L&SWR main lines and opened in October 1855. For a few months it was operated under contract by its engineerGeorge Parker Bidder but in 1856 it was leased to the LB&SCR who purchased it in 1858.[16]
At the same time, the LB&SCR was cooperating with the LC&DR to create theSouth London line between its terminuses at London Bridge and Victoria. The LC&DR was used from Victoria toBrixton, followed by new construction by the LB&SCR throughDenmark Hill, andPeckham to the main line to London Bridge atSouth Bermondsey.[17]
During 1858, abranch line was built from Lewes toUckfield, extended to Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells in 1868. In 1864 the Newhaven branch was extended toSeaford. The East Grinstead line was extended in 1866 toGroombridge andTunbridge Wells. A large area in East Sussex between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne remained without railways, and the LB&SCR was anxious in case the SER should venture into this territory. As a result, in 1864 it sought powers to build a line between these two towns. It also obtained powers for theOuse Valley Railway, from the south ofBalcombe and north ofHaywards Heath on the Brighton main line to Uckfield andHailsham; an extension to St Leonards was also approved in May 1865. However, some work had been carried out by the end of 1866, but not completed.
In West Sussex theHorsham branch was extended toPulborough andPetworth in 1859. In 1861 a line was built from near Horsham toShoreham, providing a direct link to Brighton. Branches were built from the West Sussex coast line toLittlehampton in 1863, to connect with a new cross-channel ferry service, toBognor Regis in 1864, and toHayling Island in 1867.[18] The line from Havant to Hayling had been built by theHayling Railway, but it was leased to the LB&SCR in 1874.[19]
Following the 1862 agreement with the L&SWR, a line was built from near Pulborough to a junction with theWest Sussex coast line nearFord in 1863. This provided a shorter LB&SCR route from London to Portsmouth via Three Bridges and Horsham.[20]
TheEpsom and Leatherhead Railway was an independent line from the L&SW main line at Wimbledon through Epsom andLeatherhead towardsGuildford. The LB&SCR entered into an agreement to share its station at Epsom and to use the line as far as Leatherhead. The line opened in August 1859 and in 1860 this portion was transferred to the joint ownership of the LB&SCR and the L&SWR. The LB&SCR then bought the Banstead and Epsom Downs Railway, which was building abranch line fromSutton toEpsom Downs forEpsom Downs Racecourse, opened in May 1865.
The LB&SCR wished to connectHorsham with significant towns in Surrey, and in 1865 it opened a line betweenWest Horsham and the L&SWR near Guildford. It constructed a line from Leatherhead toDorking in March 1867, continued to Horsham two months later. This enabled alternative LB&SCR routes from London to Brighton and the West Sussex coast and further reduced the distance of its route from London to Portsmouth.
The LB&SCR supported the independentSurrey and Sussex Junction Railway, which obtained powers in July 1865 to build a line from Croydon to Tunbridge Wells viaOxted, to be worked by the LB&SCR. The involvement of LB&SCR directors in this scheme was interpreted by the SER as a breach of the 1849 agreement, and in retaliation the SER and LC&DR obtained theSouth Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover (London, Lewes and Brighton) Railways Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. cccxviii) for a rival 'London, Lewes and Brighton Railway', which would undermine the profitable LB&SCR monopoly to that town.[21] Neither scheme was proceeded with.
Following the opening of the branch fromLewes toNewhaven, the LB&SCR sought to develop a shorter Continental route from London to Paris viaDieppe, in competition with the SER routes fromDover toCalais andFolkestone toBoulogne. The LB&SCR built its wharf and warehousing facilities on the east side of the river, withNewhaven Harbour station. It funded the dredging of the channel and other improvements to the harbour between 1850 and 1878, to enable it to be used by larger cross-channel ferries,[22] and in 1863 the LB&SCR and theChemins de Fer de l'Ouest introduced the Newhaven–Dieppe passenger service.[23] In 1878 the railway formed and underwrote the Newhaven Harbour Company and thereafter delegated responsibility for its operation to it.[24]
Largely as a result of the railway, the rural area betweenNew Cross and Croydon rapidly became built up, and the population of Croydon increased 14-fold, from 16,700 to 233,000, during the LB&SCR's existence. During the 1860s the LB&SCR began to develop new traffic from the growing number of middle-classcommuters who were beginning to live in the south London suburbs and working in central London.
As part of its suburban expansion, the LB&SCR built aline fromPeckham Rye roughly parallel to the main line, throughEast Dulwich,Tulse Hill,Streatham andMitcham toSutton andEpsom Downs, which opened in October 1868.
Relations between the LB&SCR and the SER and the interpretation of the 1848 agreement continued to be difficult throughout the 1850s and 1860s. They reached a low point in 1863 when the SER produced a report for its shareholders outlining a long list of the difficulties between the two companies, and the reasons why they considered that the LB&SCR had broken the 1848 agreement.[25]
The main areas of disagreement listed were atHastings, allowing the LC&DR to use its lines toVictoria, a proposed LB&SCR branch toBromley, the new LB&SCR line toDorking, LB&SCR opposition to the SER attempts at building a line to thewest end, the LB&SCR agreement to let the LC&DR use its goods facilities atBricklayers Arms, and the perennial problem of the shared main line betweenRedhill andCroydon.
The most flagrant example of the lack of cooperation between the two companies, however, was with respect to the independentCaterham Railway, which ran in South Eastern territory, but joined the Brighton mainline at the LB&SCRGodstone Road station (later renamed Caterham Junction). Both companies objected to the other operating the branch line, which resulted in a delay of a year between the completion of the work and the opening of the line in 1856. Their failure to agree on such matters as through ticketing quickly drove the independent company into bankruptcy. Even after the SER took over running of the branch in 1859, the squabbling and bloody mindedness continued to the great detriment of the passengers. Eventually the matters reached the leader columns ofThe Times newspaper in 1862 before the companies would negotiate with one another.[26]
The chronic congestion over the shared line betweenEast Croydon railway station andRedhill eased after 1 May 1868 when the route ceased to be on theSouth Eastern Main Line to Dover following the opening of the 'Sevenoaks cut off' line betweenSt Johns andTonbridge railway station.[27] A ten-year agreement between the SER and the LB&SCR over the use of the station and lines to Coulsdon was signed 1 February 1869 and renewed ten years later.[28]
The collapse of the bankersOverend, Gurney and Company in 1866 and the financial crisis the following year brought the LB&SCR to the brink of bankruptcy.[29] A special meeting of shareholders was adjourned, and the powers of the board of directors were suspended pending receipt of a report into the financial affairs of the company and its prospects.[30] The report made clear that the LB&SCR had overextended itself with large capital projects sustained by profits from passengers, which suddenly declined as a result of the crisis. Several country lines were losing money – most notably between Horsham and Guildford, East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells, and Banstead and Epsom – and the LB&SCR was committed to building or acquiring others with equally poor prospects.[31] The report was extremely critical of the policies of Schuster and the company secretary, Frederick Slight, both of whom resigned. It did however point out that these lines had been built or acquired as a means for preventing competition from neighbouring railways. The committee recommended the abandonment of several projects, and that the LB&SCR should enter into a working agreement with the SER.
The new board of directors accepted many of these recommendations, and they managed to persuadeSamuel Laing to return as chairman. It was through his business acumen and that of the new secretary and general manager J. P. Knight that the LB&SCR gradually recovered its financial health during the early 1870s.[32]
As a result, all construction of lines was suspended. Three important projects then under construction were abandoned: theOuse Valley Railway, its extension to St Leonards, and theSurrey and Sussex Junction Railway. Theline between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne was shelved until the financial situation improved.[33] For the next decade, projects were limited to additional spurs or junctions in London and Brighton to enhance the operation of the network, or small-scale ventures in conjunction with other railway companies. The latter included a short line fromStreatham throughTooting toWimbledon in 1868, and a connection fromPortsmouth Town toPortsmouth Harbour in 1876, both jointly with the L&SWR.
The proposed 'working cooperation' with the SER never took effect but remained under active consideration by both parties, and later involved the LC&DR.[34] It was not until 1875 that the idea was dropped, after the SER pulled out of negotiations due to the conditions imposed by Parliament on the proposed merger. The LB&SCR continued as an independent railway but the SER and LCDR eventually formed a working relationship in 1899 with the formation of theSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway.
One new line to which the LB&SCR was committed was theEast London Railway, a consortium of six railway companies: the Great Eastern Railway (GER); the LB&SCR; the LC&DR; the SER; the Metropolitan Railway; and the District Railway. It sought to reuse theThames Tunnel, built byMarc andIsambard Kingdom Brunel between 1825 and 1843. A line was therefore built between the LB&SCR atNew Cross andWapping with a link to the GER main line, in March 1869. It was primarily intended for goods transfer between these railways, but the LB&SCR introduced a passenger service betweenLiverpool Street Station and Croydon.
| London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (Various Powers) Act 1878 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to confer further powers upon the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company, and to enable them to purchase the Hayling Bridge and Causeway. |
| Citation | 41 & 42 Vict. c. lxxiv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 17 June 1878 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
By the mid-1870s the LB&SCR had recovered its financial stability through a policy of encouraging the more intensive use of lines and reducing operating costs. Between 1870 and 1889 annual revenue rose from £1.3 million to £2.4 million, whilst its operating costs rose from £650,000 to just over £1 million.[35] The LB&SCR was able to embark upon new railway building and improvements to infrastructure. Some new lines passed through sparsely populated areas and merely provided shorter connections to towns that were already on the railway network, and so were unlikely to be profitable, but the LB&SCR found itself under pressure from local communities wanting a rail connection, and was frightened that they would otherwise be developed by rivals.
The main reason for the financial recovery lay in the exploitation of London suburban traffic. By the late 1880s the LB&SCR had developed the largest suburban network of any British railway, with 68 route miles (109 km) in the suburbs in addition to its main lines, in three routes between London Bridge and Victoria:[36] theSouth London line, the outer South London Line and theCrystal Palace lines, and the LB&SCR was earning more from season tickets than any other British railway. Thus an official return showed that the railway had operated more than 100,000 passenger trains from April to June 1889, more than any other company operating only in southern England.[37]
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to enable the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company to complete and construct Railways between Croydon, Oxted, and East Grinstead, and to acquire the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway; to confer powers on the South-eastern Railway Company; and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 41 & 42 Vict. c. lxxii |
The scheme to link Eastbourne with Tunbridge Wells was revived in April 1879 with the opening of a line connecting the Hailsham branch toHeathfield, completed the following September from Heathfield toEridge, and later known as theCuckoo Line.
In 1877 authority was granted to the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway (L&EGR), roughly parallel to the 'Cuckoo Line',[38] sponsored by local landowners, including the Earl of Sheffield, and including a branch fromHorsted Keynes toHaywards Heath on the Brighton main line. A year later an act of 1878 enabled the LB&SCR to acquire and operate lines, opened in August 1882 and September 1883. The East Grinstead–Lewes line subsequently became known as the 'Bluebell line' and, following its closure in 1958, the section betweenHorsted Keynes andSheffield Park was taken over by theBluebell Railway Preservation Society.
The LB&SCR in West Sussex was largely complete by 1870 except for a link betweenMidhurst andChichester, delayed by the financial crisis of 1867; this was revived and opened in 1881. Minor improvements aroundLittlehampton were made, and a branch toDevil's Dyke opened in 1887, built by and owned by an independent company but operated by the LB&SCR. In Hampshire the LB&SCR leased theHayling Island branch line from 1874,[39] opened in 1865 as an independent concern.[40] The LB&SCR and the L&SWR jointly built a1+1⁄4-mile (2 km)branch from a new station on their existing joint line atFratton toEast Southsea in 1887, but early in the 20th century had to compete with a tramway, and it was closed at the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914.[41]
Although the proposed Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway had been abandoned in 1867, there remained a demand from Croydon to towns such as East Grinstead, Tunbridge Wells and the East Sussex coast. The SER was looking for a relief route in the same general direction for itsTonbridge andHastings services, and the two railways collaborated in a joint line betweenSouth Croydon, on the main Brighton line, andOxted. Beyond Oxted, the LB&SCR would build its own lines to link with the Bluebell line at East Grinstead and its line to Tunbridge Wells. SER trains would join the line between Redhill and Tonbridge. Authority was granted in 1878 and they opened in 1884.
Brighton railway station was rebuilt and extended in 1882–83 with a new single roof, andEastbourne was rebuilt in 1886 to cope with additional traffic.
With the steady growth of traffic in the South London suburbs during the 1880s and early 1890s, the LB&SCR was the subject of press criticism for poor timekeeping and slow trains,[42] although it was never subjected to the levels of press and public obloquy accorded to the SER. Two of the reasons for poor timekeeping were the volume of traffic generated and the complexity of the LB&SCR network north ofRedhill with large numbers of junctions and signals.[43] A further complication was that both the LB&SCR and the SER shared the 11 miles (18 km) of track between Redhill andEast Croydon. This part of the line was owned by the SER, which (according to Acworth) gave its trains precedence through the junctions at Redhill,[44] but the LB&SCR paid an annual fee of £14,000 for its use. Relations with the SER began to deteriorate once more and eventually both companies appointedHenry Oakley general manager of theGreat Northern Railway as an independent assessor in 1889. Oakley supported the LB&SCR right to use the line but increased the annual payment to £20,000.[28] However this did not solve the problem and an 1896 study of LB&SCR passenger services, by J. Pearson Pattinson described the8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km) of shared track between Redhill and Stoats Nest (Coulsdon) as being 'in a state of the utmost congestion, and detentions of the Brighton expresses, blocked by South Eastern stopping trains, are as constant as irritating.'[45]
Ultimately the only solution was for the LB&SCR to build its own line betweenCoulsdon North andEarlswood, bypassing Redhill, which became known as the 'Quarry line'. Plans were drawn up byCharles L. Morgan, the Chief Engineer.[46] Authority was granted by Parliament in July 1896, and construction took place in 1898–99.[47] The line involved substantial civil engineering works including the excavation of new tunnels atMerstham andRedhill, cuttings, embankments and a covered way atCane Hill Hospital. The line opened on 8 November 1899 (1 April 1900 for passengers).
During its last 20 years the LB&SCR opened no new lines, but invested in improving its main line and London terminals, together with the electrification of its London suburban services.
Following the completion of theQuarry line, the bottleneck on the heavily usedmain line moved further south. Plans were drawn up for the quadrupling throughout, but only the 16 miles (26 km) from Earlswood toThree Bridges were completed, between 1906 and 1909. A fifth track was laid between Norwood Junction andSouth Croydon in 1907–08. Extension beyond Three Bridges would have involved heavy engineering atBalcombe tunnel, over theOuse Valley Viaduct and through the South Downs. The required capital expenditure was diverted to extending the electrification programme.
Unlike other mainline railway companies, the LB&SCR had to share both its London termini with its rivals,London Bridge with the SER andVictoria with the LC&DR. The rapid increase in commuting towards the end of the 19th century created an urgent need to expand the cramped and limited facilities at Victoria. During the first decade of the new century the line betweenGrosvenor Bridge and Victoria was widened and the station rebuilt on a much larger scale. A new turntable and locomotive servicing facilities enabled the use of more powerful locomotives. During the same period LB&SCR facilities at London Bridge were enlarged, but since the station had been rebuilt so many times it remained a 'sprawling confusion'.[48]
Between 1905 and 1912 the LB&SCR suffered an increasingly serious motive power shortage due to the inability ofBrighton Works to keep pace with the volume of repairs and new construction required. By 1910 30% of the locomotive stock was unusable due to delays and inefficiencies at the works,[49] leading to the sickness and retirement of the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon SuperintendentD. E. Marsh. The problem was solved by the establishment ofLancing Carriage Works and the reorganisation of Brighton Works by Marsh's successorL. B. Billinton.
With other British railways the LB&SCR was brought under government control during theFirst World War. Until then it had carried relatively little heavy goods, but this changed dramatically at the outbreak of war.[50] The LB&SCR was responsible for carrying the bulk of thestores and munitions delivered to the British troops on the continent, principally through its port ofNewhaven This included nearly 7 million tons of goods, including 2.7 million tons of explosives. It necessitated an additional 53,376 goods trains over the four years of the war.[51]
Newhaven harbour also received casualties landing in hospital ships, with the railway providing ambulance trains.[52] There were several army camps within the territory of the LB&SCR which therefore provided 27,366 troop trains.[51] Army horses awaiting shipping to France were stabled at Farlington Racecourse.[53]
At the outbreak of hostilities the area surrounding Newhaven Port was requisitioned and theHarbour station closed. From 22 September 1916 Newhaven became a special military area for handling Government traffic under the Defence of the Realm Regulations.[54]
This additional traffic required substantial improvements to infrastructure, notably at Newhaven harbour, where additional warehousing, new sidings and signalling constructed and electric lighting was installed. When Newhaven became overwhelmed the tidal port ofLittlehampton was rebuilt and pressed into service.[55] Inland, a much enlarged goodsmarshalling yard was established at Three Bridges, which was chosen as a nodal point for handling War traffic. AtGatwick andHaywards Heath, passing loops were constructed so that the frequent passenger trains would not be impeded by slower goods trains and to hold munitions trains during air raids. Some munitions trains were routed to Newhaven via theSteyning Line to Brighton to avoid congesting the part of the Brighton main line which had only two tracks.Between 1914 and 1918, 5,635 members of LB&SCR staff joined the forces, creating staff shortages at all levels (including the Chief Mechanical Engineer who was called up for service in Russia and Romania).[56] This necessitated the employment of female labour in clerical grades and for carriage cleaning.[57] The railway erected aWar Memorial at London Bridge in 1920 honouring the 532 staff who had lost their lives. Likewise, in April 1922, the last locomotive to be constructed by the company,4-6-4T 'L' Class No. 333, was named 'Remembrance' and carried a memorial plaque.[58]
By 31 December 1922, when the LB&SCR ceased to have an independent existence, it had 457 miles (735 km) of route. Of these, 100 mi (161 km) was single track, 357 mi (575 km) double track, 47 mi (76 km) triple track, and 49 mi (79 km) four or more tracks. Sidings had a total length of 355 miles (571 km).[59] According to Bonavia, 'the Brighton was a highly individual line in its strengths and weaknesses, it was to experience drastic changes under Southern [Railway] management which older members of the staff would not always accept gracefully.'[60]
The LB&SCR was essentially a passenger-carrying concern, with goods and mineral traffic playing a limited role in its receipts. As originally envisaged the railway was a trunk route, conveying passengers (and to a lesser extent goods) between London, Croydon and the south coast, with relatively little traffic to and from stations in between. However, the railway's existence began to generate new goods and passenger traffic at towns and villages on or near the main line, such asReigate,Crawley andHaywards Heath. This also applied toSussex andSurrey market towns such asLewes,Horsham,East Grinstead andDorking as soon as these were connected to the rail network. After 1870 the development of the London suburbs south of the Thames had a profound effect on the nature of the railway. The development ofNewhaven harbour was also a stimulus to the development of both categories of traffic.
The speed and punctuality of many LB&SCR passenger services was the subject of widespread criticism in the technical and popular press during the 1890s.[61] This was in part due in part to the complexity of the system between London and Croydon, with a large number of signals and junctions, the sharing of stretches of line with the SER, and the relatively short routes, which gave little opportunity to make up for lost time. The LB&SCR gradually began to rebuild its reputation during the 20th century through improvements to mainline infrastructure and electrification of suburban services.
The company had no long-distance express trains, with a maximum journey length of 75 miles (121 km). Nevertheless, frequent express passenger services ran to the most important coastal destinations from both London Bridge and Victoria. Season ticket revenue, particularly from Brighton to London, was the backbone of the LB&SCR's finances for most of the 19th century.[62] The morningrush hour business services were among "the heaviest express services in the world" in the 1880s, with loads of 360 tons.[44]
IndividualPullman cars were introduced to Britain on theMidland Railway in 1874, followed by theGreat Northern Railway soon after and the LB&SCR in 1875.[63] The LB&SCR pioneered all-Pullman trains in England, thePullman Limited Express on 5 December 1881. It consisted of four cars built at the Pullman Car Company workshops inDerby,Beatrice,Louise,Maud andVictoria, the first electrically lit coaches on a British railway. The train made two down and two up trips per day, one each way on Sundays. It was renamed theBrighton Pullman Limited in 1887, and first-class carriages were attached. A new train was built in 1888: three Pullmans were shipped over in parts from the Pullman Palace Car Company in America, and assembled by the LB&SCR at Brighton.
TheBrighton Limited was introduced on 2 October 1898. It ran only on Sundays, and not in July–September. It was timed to make the journey from Victoria in 60 minutes: "London to Brighton in one hour" was the advertisement used for the first time. On 21 December 1902 it made a record run of 54 minutes. It hit the headlines again when, faced with the threat of a competing electric railway being built from London to Brighton, it ran to Brighton in 48 minutes 41 seconds and the return to London in 50 minutes 21 seconds, matching the schedule put forward by the promoters of the electric line.TheSouthern Belle, introduced 8 November 1908, was described as "the most luxurious train in the World." By 1910 two trips each way were running every day; later three were run on Sundays. Third-class Pullman cars began running on Sunday 12 September 1915 from Victoria to Brighton andEastbourne.
Slower passenger services between London and the south coast often divided at East Croydon to serve both the London termini, and combined there for down trains, so East Croydon had an important nodal function in the system.[64] After 1867, following the opening of the direct line to Horsham, Sutton acted as a similar node for passenger trains between London and Portsmouth.
The LB&SCR appears to have invented the practice ofslipping coaches from the rear of express trains at intermediate stations for onward transmission to branch lines or smaller stations on the main line. The earliest recorded example was atHaywards Heath in February 1858, where coaches forHastings were slipped from a London–Brighton express.[65] The slipping was coordinated by a series of communication bell signals between the guards on the two portions of the train and the locomotive crew.[66]
Before 1914, twenty-one coaches were slipped each day on the Brighton main line.[67] Coaches were slipped atHorley andThree Bridges for stations toEast Grinstead,Forest Row andHorsham, or atHaywards Heath for stations toBrighton andEastbourne. The practice continued until the electrification of the main line in 1932.[68]
After 1870, the LB&SCR greatly encouraged commuters into London by reducing the prices of season tickets and introducing specialworkmen's trains for manual workers in that year.[69] By May 1890 the company was operating 10,773 trains into its London termini each month, more than any other company.[70] This growth changed the character of the railway and had a profound influence upon itsmotive power policy and passenger train services. In the 1870s and 1880s it led to the building of new standardtank engine classes such as theTerrier andD1 classes underWilliam Stroudley.R. J. Billinton replaced these with theD3,E3,E4, andE5 classes designed for London suburban services, during the 1890s. When steam locomotives became unable to cope with the increased suburban traffic and competition from electric trams in the early 20th century, it resulted in the electrification of the London suburban network.
Excursion trains from London to the South Coast and the Sussex countryside had been introduced in 1844,[71] and were a feature of the LB&SCR throughout its existence. Special fares to Brighton and other south coast resorts on summer Sundays and at bank holidays were regularly advertised in the press. Likewise, special trains serving the regular fetes and exhibitions at Crystal Palace during the summer months.
After 1870 the LB&SCR sought to develop the holiday and excursion trade and market other south coast resorts such asHayling Island and theIsle of Wight as holiday destinations, by publishing a range of attractive posters. On the Isle of Wight the LB&SCR and the L&SWR jointly took over the ferry service from Portsmouth and built new pier atRyde with a short line to the station atSt John's Road in 1880. During the 1900s the company ran special Sunday trains to enable London cyclists to explore the Sussex and Surrey countryside.[72] By 1905 the railway was offering day trips toDieppe and circular tickets, valid for a month, to enable Londoners to explore towns along the South Coast.[73]
In 1904 the Great Western Railway inaugurated holiday trains during the summer months fromBirkenhead to Brighton and Eastbourne, in conjunction with the LB&SCR. The following year LB&SCR and L&NWR jointly operated theSunny South Special fromLiverpool andManchester to these destinations. These trains operated via theWest London lines, with the LB&SCR responsible for their operation from Kensington or Willesden.[74]
The LB&SCR served importantHorse racing tracks atBrighton,Epsom,Gatwick,Goodwood,Lewes,Lingfield andPlumpton, andPortsmouth Park (Farlington). Race day special trains were an important source of revenue during the summer months.[75]
During the first few years of the 20th century the LB&SCR, in common with other railways, became concerned about losses on branch and short-distance passenger services, particularly in winter. The L&SWR and the LB&SCR boards decided to investigate the use of steam poweredrailcars on the1+1⁄4-mile (2 km) joint branch line between Fratton and East Southsea, in June 1903. The locomotive and carriage units were both built by the L&SWR, but one of the carriages was painted in the LB&SCR livery. The two vehicles had to be quickly withdrawn as they were found to be chronically underpowered, but were rebuilt with larger boilers and thereafter gave adequate service. However, their use did not stem the loss of traffic to the roads and in 1914 the branch was closed.[76]
Nevertheless, the LB&SCR directors asked the Chief Mechanical Engineer,Robert Billinton, to investigate the use of steam or petrolrailcars on lightly used services. Billinton died in 1904, before examples could be acquired, but in 1905 his successorDouglas Earle Marsh acquired two steam railcars fromBeyer, Peacock and Company and two petrol railcars fromDick, Kerr & Co. These were compared with small steam locomotives of the StroudleyA1 andD1 classes fitted for "motor train" or "push-pull" working.[77] Neither type of railcar was successful, being inadequate to cope with traffic fluctuations between winter and summer, but the "motor trains" could be adapted by the addition or removal of extra coaches. As a result, the experiment provided a new lease of life for the Stroudley tank classes, which continued to be used on branch lines for many years after their withdrawal from suburban services. Thesteam railcars were sold in 1919, and the petrol railcars were used for departmental (non-revenue-earning) purposes during the erection of the catenary for theoverhead electrification of the London suburban lines.[78]
During the experiments relating to railcars andmotor trains, the LB&SCR constructed unmanned halts, such asLyons Crossing Halt andLittlehaven Halt on theArun Valley Line, in an attempt to increase passenger revenue.
Freight represented a relatively small part of the LB&SCR's finances during its first half century. Agricultural goods and general merchandise were carried, together with wine, foodstuffs and manufactured goods imported from France. During the 1870s the pattern of goods services slowly began to change, leading to rapid growth in the 1890s, 'caused by the transport of raw materials and finished products of entirely new industries such as petroleum, cement, brick and tile manufacture, forestry and biscuit making.'[79] This resulted in the construction of 55 goods locomotives of theC2 class
There were no coal mines within LB&SCR territory, and so it had to pay substantially more for its fuel than most other companies.[80] The bulk of its coal was brought in 800 long tons (810 t) trains from Acton yard on theGreat Western Railway toThree Bridges for redistribution, and the LB&SCR kept two goods locomotives at the GWR Westbourne Park Depot for this purpose.[81] In 1898 there was a scheme to develop Deptford Wharf for the landing of coal by sea.[82] The additional fuel costs were partially offset by the sale of shingle for rail ballast from Pevensey.[83]
The main London goods depot was at 'Willow Walk', part of theBricklayers Arms complex, where the LB&SCR established its facilities in 1849.[84] These were enlarged in 1854 after it entered into an agreement with theLC&DR to handle its goods traffic.[85] Further extensions were built in 1865 and 1902.[86] There were also freight handling facilities atBattersea andDeptford Wharves, andNew Cross in London and the railway constructed amarshalling yard to the south ofNorwood Junction during the 1870s, extended in the early 1880s.[87] Other freight handling facilities outside London were at:Brighton (where there was a separate goods station at, adjacent to the passenger station), Eastbourne, Hastings, Littlehampton, Portsmouth, Newhaven, Seaford, and Three Bridges.
Proposals for aLondon and Brighton Electric Railway made to Parliament in 1900 failed to proceed, but caused the LB&SCR to considerelectrification.[88][89] Also, competition from the introduction of trams in London meant that annual traffic over the circuitous8+1⁄2-mile (14 km) route between Victoria and London Bridge stations had dropped from 8 million to 3 million journeys by 1908.[90] Because of the nature of its traffic with a very large number of commuter journeys over relatively short distances, the railway was an obvious candidate for electrification, and had sought powers for suburban lines in 1903. Third and fourth raildirect current electrification had been chosen for the underground tube railways and theMetropolitan Railway andDistrict Railway in London, theMersey Railway in Liverpool and theLancashire and Yorkshire RailwayLiverpool toSouthport line. However the LB&SCR foresaw electrification of its main line, and ultimately to Portsmouth and Hastings, and therefore decided on a high-tension overhead supply system at 6,600 voltsAC.
Although theMidland Railway line fromLancaster toMorecambe andHeysham had been the first to useoverhead lines, the LB&SCR lines covered a far greater length of track. This system was of German origin and the contractor for the electrical equipment wasAllgemeine Elektricitäts Gesellschaft of Berlin, while the main contractor was Robert W Blackwell & Co Ltd. Power supply was from the London Electric Supply Corporation (LESCo) atDeptford.[89][91]
The first section was theSouth London line connecting London Bridge with Victoria viaDenmark Hill, opened on 1 December 1909. It was marketed as 'The Elevated Electric' and was an immediate success.[92] Traffic on the line grew from 3 to 10 million journeys per year.[93] Other routes followed: on 12 May 1911 Victoria–Crystal Palace viaBalham andWest Norwood, followed on 3 March 1912 by the line fromPeckham Rye to West Norwood. Repair shops were established at Peckham Rye, and carriage sheds atNorwood Junction.
Continued success and profitability of its earliest projects caused the LB&SCR to decide to electrify all remaining London suburban lines in 1913. However, the outbreak ofwar the following year delayed what was planned to have been considerable further mileage of electrified line. By 1921 most of the inner London suburban lines were electrified, and during 1922 lines toCoulsdon andSutton, opened on 1 April 1925. During 1920 plans were drawn up to extend the 'Elevated Electric' to Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Newhaven and Seaford, and to Epsom and Oxted, but these were overtaken by the Grouping.[94]
The 'Elevated Electric' proved to be a technical and financial success,[95] but was short-lived since theL&SWR had adopted the third-rail system: its mileage far exceeded that of the LB&SCR. In 1926 the Southern Railway announced that, as part of a huge electrification project, all overhead lines were to be converted tothird rail, thus bringing all lines into a common system. The last overhead electric train ran on 22 September 1929.[89][96]
Semaphoresignalling andsignal boxes were first introduced on the L&CR and had been adopted by the L&BR as early as the 1840s. There were a number of serious accidents in the early years of the LB&SCR, some due to failures in communication.[97] The LB&SCR began to improve its safety record in the 1860s with the introduction ofinterlocking,[98] and the early introduction ofWestinghouse air brakes. Given the large number of junctions and the intensive use of its system, the LB&SCR maintained a good safety record during the last half century of its existence.
The following accidents occurred on the LB&SCR:
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The LB&SCR originally used semaphore for home signals and 'double disc' for distant signals, but after 1872 semaphore signals were used for both purposes.
The LB&SCR was using primitive interlocking between signals at some junctions by 1844.[116] In 1856,John Saxby, an LB&SCR carpenter, patented a form of manualinterlocking of the points and signals, first tried at Bricklayers Arms that year.[117] The first fully interlocking frame was installed by Saxby at Keymer Junction nearHaywards Heath in 1860, where he built a small workshop to undertake private work. He left the company and in 1862 formedSaxby & Farmer signalling contractors. Thereafter the LB&SC patronised Saxby & Farmer for most of its signalling until circa 1880.[116] Thereafter it adopted theSykes 'Lock and block' system used on the LC&DR.[118]
The LB&SCR inherited the world's first signal boxes, at Bricklayers Arms Junction and Brighton Junction (Norwood). After 1880 it gradually developed its own architecture for signal boxes, using home-produced and contractor-built frames. J. E. Annett, the inventor ofAnnett's key in 1875, a portable form of interlocking, was a former LB&SCR employee.
During the remodelling ofVictoria Station between 1898 and 1908 it was resignalled using theSykes electromechanical method for controlling points and signals, allowing for more compact signal boxes.[119]
For the greater part of its existence the LB&SCR relied uponsteam locomotives formotive power, and it owned nodiesel orelectric locomotives. The electrified lines were worked byelectric multiple units for passenger traffic and by steam for freight. It experimented with two petrolrailcars in 1906 and 1907, but these proved to be underpowered and highly unreliable and were soon taken out of traffic.[120]
The LB&SCR under Stroudley was one of the first railways in Britain to adopt theWestinghouseair brake after 1877[121] in preference to the far less effective vacuum brakes employed by its neighbours.
The LB&SCR inherited 51 steam locomotives from theBrighton, Croydon and Dover Joint Committee, and it built or purchased 1,055 locomotives.[122] Of these, 620 were handed over to the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.
The LB&SCR achieved early fame as the first railway to use theJenny Lind2-2-2 locomotive in 1847, designed byDavid Joy, the Chief Draughtsman of theE. B. Wilson and Company ofLeeds, later widely used by other railways. The policy ofJohn Chester Craven,Locomotive Superintendent from 1847 to 1869, was to design locomotives for each task or type of traffic. Many of his designs were capable locomotives, but with 72 different classes in use at the time ofWilliam Stroudley's appointment in 1870, the policy was hopelessly uneconomic.
Stroudley reduced this to 12 main classes, many with interchangeable parts, by 1888.[80] He introduced a number of extremely successful and long-lived designs, notably theA1 ('Terrier') andE1 classes0-6-0T, and theD1 class0-4-2T, the powerfulG class2-2-2 'singles' and theB1 'Gladstone' class0-4-2 express passenger locomotives. Less successful were hisC andC10-6-0 classes of 1871 and 1882 respectively, both of which proved to be underpowered as the volume of freight traffic grew towards the end of the century. Stroudley's locomotives were all limited to six wheels, and he never usedbogies largely because of the limitations imposed byturntables, notably at Victoria. The high price of coal encouraged him to experiment withcondensing apparatus.[123][124]
Stroudley's successorR. J. Billinton continued the process of standardisation of locomotive parts until his death in 1904, thereby reducing maintenance costs. He introduced eight-wheeled designs in the form of4-4-0 express locomotives of theB4 class and theD3 class0-4-4T, for use on London suburban services. He also introduced a very successful and versatile series of four0-6-2T tank engine classes withradial axles for both passenger and freight duties. Of less success was his0-6-0 freight locomotives of theC2 class.
D.E. Marsh continued the process of building larger locomotives with theH1 class of4-4-2 express passenger locomotives of 1905, based on a former Great Northern railway design. Asuperheated version was introduced in 1911. Marsh was also responsible for the design of four of4-4-2T classes (I1-I4) but of these, only theI3 class were successful, being described by Klaus Marx as 'wonder engines'.[125] This class was also instrumental in demonstrating the benefits of superheating to locomotive engineers in Britain. Marsh also designed aclass of4-6-2tank engines, and a very poorC3 class of0-6-0, freight locomotives, which proved to perform worse than the locomotives they were due to replace. However, he found that by rebuilding Billinton's unsuccessful C2 class with his newly designed C3 boiler he was at last able to produce a successful freight design for the railway in the form of theC2X class.
The lastChief Mechanical Engineer wasL.B. Billinton, who designed the powerfulK class2-6-0mixed-traffic locomotives and theLB&SCR E2 class in 1913, and theL class4-6-4 tanks of 1914. All of these designs were successful but his career was cut short by theFirst World War and the grouping of British railways. According to D.L. Bradley, the railway handed over "a nicely balanced stock of locomotives well-suited to the demands of the Brighton section" to theSouthern Railway at grouping in 1923.[126]
LB&SCR locomotive designs had little impact on the locomotive policy of the Southern Railway after 1923 because they were built to a more generousloading gauge and had Westinghouse air brakes unlike the two other main constituent companies. Although the designs were not perpetuated, the originals proved to be particularly long-lived. 62.8% of locomotives inherited by the Southern Railway were still in use at the nationalisation ofBritish Railways in 1948, compared with 57.9% for the L&SWR and 56.8% for the SE&CR.[127]
The electrified lines were operated byelectric multiple units. These were originally three-car units, with a trailer sandwiched between motor cars, later converted into two-car units with one driving motor car and onedriving trailer. New classes of multiple unit were developed for each electrified line, known as theSouth London stock and theCrystal Palace stock. A third type, theCoulsdon and Wallington stock was planned by the LB&SCR but introduced by the Southern Railway.
The jobs ofLocomotive Superintendent and Carriage and wagon superintendent were combined until the retirement ofD. E. Marsh in 1911. As a result, the LB&SCR was never at the forefront of carriage development for its ordinarycoaching stock,[128] and as late as the mid-1860s was still building open-side 3rd class carriages.[129] Stroudley introduced four-wheeled and later six-wheeled designs which lasted for 40 years, and shortly before his death in 1889 he introduced a fewbogie carriages for the main business trains.[130] Stroudley was a pioneer ofdynamo-drivenelectric lighting[131] andcommunication cords.[129] The LB&SCR introduced breakfast cars to its main business trains.
The appointment of Albert Panter as Carriage and Wagon Works Manager underRobert Billinton in 1898 (Carriage and Wagon Superintendent from 1912) led to the introduction ofbogie carriages for mainline trains in 1905,[132] but suburban services were operated by six-wheeled "block trains" with solid woodenbuffers, permanently tight coupled in sets of ten or 12.[133] Many of these were still in use at grouping in 1923. Better vehicles appeared early in the 20th century with the 'Balloon stock' and electric stock.[134]
Sixteen carriages of LB&SCR origin have been preserved, including one luxurious "Directors' saloon" of 1914: these are principally on theBluebell Railway and theIsle of Wight Steam Railway.[135] A number of grounded carriage bodies used as holiday homes survive.
Sixteen wagons formerly in LB&SCR ownership now survive, largely because the Southern Railway transferred them to theIsle of Wight, where they remained in use until the 1960s.[136]
After 1870 the LB&SCR was renowned for the attractiveness of its locomotives and coaching stock and condition of its country stations. "No company, eventhe North-Western itself turns out smarter looking trains than the Brighton main line expresses and even some of the suburban trains."[137]
Between 1846 and 1870 passenger locomotives were paintedhunter green with some having black lining. Frames were red, and wheels were black;buffer beams were the regulation 'signal red'. Goods locomotives were black with red and white lining, except those operating intoBrighton orLondon Bridge, in passenger livery. Some engines hadboilers lagged with wooden strips. These were either highly polishedmahogany withbrass fixings or were painted in alternating stripes of dark green andvermilion. The main shade of green used gradually became darker. By the timeStroudley became Locomotive Superintendent the colour had become a variant ofBrunswick Green used by many other companies.Carriages were paintedsea green or varnished wood, the latter mainly first class stock.
From 1870 to 1905 the livery was Stroudley's famousImproved Engine Green, a goldenochre very similar to that used by his former employer, theHighland Railway. On passenger locomotives Improved Engine Green was finished witholive green borders lined with black, red and white. Frames and buffer beams werecarmine red, lined with yellow and black. The wheels were Improved Engine Green with red lining. Cab roofs were white. Goods engines were all-overolive green with black borders, similar to the pre-1870 colours. If fitted withWestinghouse brakes the black borders were edged with red lines. Locomotives with names had the name applied ingold leaf to the tank side ontank locomotives, to a wheel splasher on tender locomotives. The letters were edged with a thin red line and given depth with black shading. This livery was one of the most ornate and distinctive used on British locomotives, and is remembered with nostalgia. Carriages were allmahogany in colour, with white roofs and black chassis gear. Initially the wood of the body was varnished, but as it became harder to maintain a high-quality varnish finish and it was painted in a similar-colouredpaint. Panel lining and other details were picked out withgold leaf.
From 1905 to 1923 front-line express locomotives were a dark shade ofumber. Lining was black with agilt line either side. Cab roofs remained white. Frames were black, wheels umber, and buffer beams returned to signal red. The company's initials were painted on the tender- or tank-sides (initially 'L.B.& S.C.R.', but after 1911 theampersand and the R were removed) in gilt. Secondary passenger locomotives had the same livery, but instead of gilt liningchrome yellow paint was used. Goods engines were gloss black with double vermilion lining. Names and numbers were in white letters with red shading. Carriages were initially all olive green with white lining and detailing. From 1911 this changed to plain umber with black lettering picked out with gold shading.
The LB&SCR invested in cross-channel ferry services, initially from Shoreham to Dieppe. Following the opening of the line toNewhaven in 1847, it improvedNewhaven harbour, building a wharf and dredging the channel. A Newhaven–Dieppe service was established in 1847, but discontinued soon afterwards.[138] In 1850 it established a Newhaven–Jersey ferry service, and in 1853 it reinstated the Dieppe service.[138]
TheLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway (New Lines) Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c. lxviii) gave the LB&SCR power to own and operate its own steam vessels,[139] so it instructed Chief EngineerFrederick Banister to greatly expand the port and its facilities. In 1863 theChemins de Fer de l'Ouest in France agreed to operate the Newhaven–Dieppe passenger service jointly, advertised as the "shortest and cheapest" route toParis,[140] but never the quickest because of the much longer time taken at sea than the rivalDover toCalais route. (Newhaven harbour was taken over by the military authorities and the ferries requisitioned for the duration of theFirst World War.)
In 1863, the LB&SCR transferred the Jersey service to Littlehampton and soon afterwards established another between Littlehampton andHonfleur.
By 1880 lines connected theRyde Pier and the Portsmouth Harbour ferry terminals. It was therefore a natural progression for the companies to acquire the ferry routes. To do this the LB&SCR and the L&SWR formed the South Western and Brighton Railway Companies Steam Packet Service (SW&BRCSPS), which bought the operators.[23]
In 1884 the Isle of Wight Marine Transit Company started a goods rail ferry between theHayling Island Branch Line atLangstone and the Bembridge branch line atSt Helens quay. The rail ferryPSCarrier, designed to carry railway trucks, was moved from Scotland. The project was unsuccessful and, despite being acquired by the LB&SCR in 1886, ended in 1888.[141]
The LB&SCR operated a significant number of ships in its own right, jointly withChemins de Fer de l'Ouest, and as a part of the SW&BRCSPS. SeeList of LB&SCR ships
The LB&SCR inherited significant structures, buildings and other civil engineering features, including:
The LB&SCR inherited or built 20 termini, the most significant atLondon Bridge,Victoria,Brighton,Portsmouth Harbour andEastbourne. Stations at major junctions includedClapham Junction,East Croydon,Three Bridges,Horsham, andLewes.
The use of Mocatta's modular station designs was not perpetuated. During the 1850s and 1860s most stations were constructed according to one or two stock designs prepared by the Chief Engineers, R. Jacomb-Hood andFrederick Banister (1860–1895). Banister had a love ofItalianate architecture, meaning that during the 1880s the LB&SCR produced elaborate decorated architecture for many country stations, notably on the Bluebell and Cuckoo Lines.[142] The architect was Banister's son-in-law,Thomas Myres.[143]
The L&BR established a repair workshop atBrighton in 1840. Between 1852 and 1957 more than 1,200 steam locomotives and prototype diesel electric and electric locomotives were constructed there, before closure in 1962. It had small locomotive repair facilities atNew Cross andBattersea Park Depots in London.
By the first decade of the 20th century, Brighton works could no longer cope with the repair and building of both locomotives and rolling stock. In 1911 the LB&SCR built a carriage and wagon works atLancing, which operated until 1965. A marine engineering workshop was established in the mid-1870s atNewhaven.[144]
There wereengine sheds atBattersea Park,Brighton,Bognor,Coulsdon,Croydon,Eastbourne,Epsom,Fratton (joint)Horsham,Littlehampton,Midhurst,New Cross,Newhaven,St Leonards,Three Bridges andTunbridge Wells West.[145]
The headquarters and main offices were atBrighton railway station from 1846 until 1892, when they were transferred to the formerTerminus Hotel atLondon Bridge
The LB&SCR opened theTerminus Hotel atLondon Bridge and theGrosvenor Hotel atVictoria in 1861. The first of these was not successful due to its site on the south bank and was turned into offices for the railway in 1892. It was destroyed by bombing in 1941. TheGrosvenor Hotel was rebuilt and enlarged in 1901.[146] The LB&SCR acquired theTerminus Hotel next to Brighton station in 1877,[147] and operated theLondon and Paris Hotel at Newhaven.[148]
The 1867 report by the railway found that there had been 'a reckless disregard for shareholders' interests for many years.'.[149] As a result, the company policies were several times subjected to criticism in pamphlets published during the 1870s and 1880s.[150] The matter was settled in 1890 when the economist and editor of theFinancial Times, William Ramage Lawson, conducted a detailed analysis of the financial performance and prospects of the LB&SCR, comparing it with other British railways. He concluded that theBrighton Deferred stock 'combined the highest return on investment, with the best prospect of future appreciation and the smallest risk of retrogression.'[151] Among the reasons given for this opinion were:
From 1870 the LB&SCR appears to have been a well-run, enterprising and profitable railway for its shareholders.
| London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Pensions) Act 1899 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to provide for the establishment and regulation of a Pension Fund for officers and servants of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. |
| Citation | 62 & 63 Vict. c. liv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 13 July 1899 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
For its time, the LB&SCR was regarded as a good employer. In 1851 it created a benevolent fund for staff who had become incapacitated, and from 1854 operated a savings bank. In 1867 there was a two-day strike involving thedrivers and firemen over their working hours, resolved by negotiation.[153] In 1872 asuperannuation fund was established for higher grades of staff, extended to become a pension fund for all staff in 1899 under theLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Pensions) Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. liv).[154]
Labour relations between the railway management, locomotive crews and Brighton works staff declined markedly in the period 1905 and 1910 leading to several strikes and sackings.[155] This was partly due to increased union militancy and to the intransigency of the Locomotive SuperintendentDouglas Earle Marsh. This situation improved under Marsh's successor.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
